I listened to a radio debate, today, concerning the ACLU's plan to give videocameras to residents in the St. Louis area, so that residents would be in a better position to blow the whistle on police misconduct. From what I understand, the program would kick-off in the Spring, as a pilot project.

The ultra-conservative radio talk show host accused the ACLU of simply initiating a campaign to try and "smear the police," and the ACLU representative said that his organization was simply attempting to improve relations between citizens and police--even though the project was admittedly racially-motivated.

I was very surprised to hear the radio host say that "cameras lie!" If that's so, why are government agencies placing them all over the country, at alarming rates? If cameras will "lie" on police officers, surely they will "lie" on average citizens, as well.

I don't agree with a lot of what the ACLU does, but I have to side with them, on this one. I don't concern myself with idiotic racial politics, but on the simple issue of citizens keeping watch on the Watchers, I fully agree.

Using fear tactics and willing media outlets, we are constantly told that we should be willing to sacrifice our liberties in the name of homeland security and the War on Terror. "Surely, you don't want the terrorists to win, do you?"

In the US, we are under constant watch, with nearly everything that we do, through the use of street/traffic cameras, email and Internet monitoring, telephone wiretaps, GPS car-tracking technology, RFID (radio frequency identification) devices, financial transactions monitoring, and so much more. There is hardly any area of our lives that isn't under the watchful eye of government, though our country's Founders never intended for government to have that kind of power.

The courts have ruled, on numerous occasions, that we have no expectation of privacy, in public places, and that's one reason why I have no problem with citizens videotaping police activities. Law enforcement officials are not some elite class of people who are above scrutiny.

To turn the tables on the Watchers, and use the words that average citizens hear so often from those who support homeland security fascism, "If you have nothing to hide, it shouldn't bother you."

Copyright 2006 Doug Kendall. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. The views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Common Voice.